Mobile device provisioning is a process by which a mobile device and the mobile device's subscriber identification module (SIM) is associated with a wireless network provider's phone and data services. Once the mobile device is provisioned, the mobile device can proceed to receive services (e.g., wireless voice and data services) provided by the wireless network provider.
With increasing demand for mobile devices such as tablets and touch-screen phones, users frequently purchase their mobile devices from third-party vendors instead of wireless network providers. Such third-party vendors often sell mobile devices that have not been provisioned. To provision a mobile device and its SIM, so as to allow the mobile device to receive services provided by a wireless service provider, the user may walk into a wireless network provider's store and request assistance from staff. The staff would then have the user sign-up for a wireless service contract and subsequently have the mobile device provisioned. This process can take significant time and can be a tedious experience for the user. The process is almost equally time consuming even when the user chooses to call the wireless service provider's customer service number without travelling to the wireless service provider's store.
While there are certain mobile devices that allow a user to self-provision, such self-provisioning techniques are device specific, designed by the device manufacturer and cannot be applied to other devices sold or marketed by a wireless network provider. Furthermore, such device specific self-provisioning techniques consume significant wireless network bandwidth even before provisioning to check with the wireless network provider if the user of the device has a valid wireless account. Furthermore, such self-provisioning techniques are limited to working with new SIMs and fail to operate with previously used or expired SIMs that may be reused for a new wireless account.
As the foregoing illustrates, a new approach for mobile device provisioning may be desirable.